U.S. patent application number 13/312076 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-14 for attachment structure of vacuum pump.
This patent application is currently assigned to SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Daijiro Mashita.
Application Number | 20120145135 13/312076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44785718 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120145135 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mashita; Daijiro |
June 14, 2012 |
ATTACHMENT STRUCTURE OF VACUUM PUMP
Abstract
The inside in an engine case is sucked to turn a pressure in the
engine case into a negative pressure. A breather chamber is
disposed above a vacuum pump. An intake port of a blow-by gas is
disposed in an upper portion of the vacuum pump. A discharge port
of the blow-by gas is disposed in a lower portion of the vacuum
pump.
Inventors: |
Mashita; Daijiro; (Shizuoka,
JP) |
Assignee: |
SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION
Shizuoka
JP
|
Family ID: |
44785718 |
Appl. No.: |
13/312076 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
123/572 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01M 2013/026 20130101;
F01M 13/04 20130101; F01M 13/021 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
123/572 |
International
Class: |
F02B 25/06 20060101
F02B025/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 9, 2010 |
JP |
2010-274923 |
Claims
1. An attachment structure of a vacuum pump being an attachment
structure of a vacuum pump sucking the inside of an engine case to
turn a pressure in the engine case into a negative pressure, the
attachment structure of the vacuum pump comprising: disposing a
breather chamber above the vacuum pump.
2. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
1, further comprising: disposing an intake port of a blow-by gas in
an upper portion of the vacuum pump.
3. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
2, further comprising: disposing a discharge port of the blow-by
gas in a lower portion of the vacuum pump.
4. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
1, further comprising: setting a rotor shaft of the vacuum pump to
be coaxial with a rotor shaft of an oil pump.
5. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
1, further comprising: disposing the breather chamber in one side
surface of a crankcase.
6. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
1, further comprising: disposing the breather chamber in the middle
of the crankcase between banks on both sides in a V-type
engine.
7. The attachment structure of the vacuum pump according to claim
1, further comprising: setting the rotor of the vacuum pump to a
Roots blower.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-274923,
filed on Dec. 9, 2010, the entire contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an attachment structure of
a vacuum pump for causing a negative pressure in an engine case in
an engine, particularly in a four-cycle engine, of a vehicle such
as a motorcycle.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, a four-cycle engine to be mounted in, for
example, a motorcycle or the like is designed such that
reciprocations of pistons to move in cylinder blocks are converted
to rotation of a crankshaft housed in an engine case and motive
power by the rotation of the crankshaft is output to the outside.
In such a four-cycle engine, due to an increase in the number of
rotations of the engine, various losses in terms of a machine,
(which are referred to as what is called mechanical losses), are
increased, and as one of the losses, a pumping loss is known. Here,
the pumping loss means pressure resistance to the reciprocations of
the pistons and is mainly ascribable to an air containing a blow-by
gas in the engine case.
[0006] In order to reduce such a pumping loss, conventionally
various devices have been made in an engine as has been disclosed
in Patent Document 1, for example. That is, the engine disclosed in
Patent Document 1 includes a vacuum pump to operate in conjunction
with rotation of a crankshaft; and an air chamber communicating
with an engine case, in which a negative pressure is caused in the
air chamber by the vacuum pump. By the vacuum pump to operate in
accordance with the number of rotations of the crankshaft, an air
in the engine case is sucked and thus a negative pressure is always
maintained in the engine case.
[0007] Further, an engine disclosed in Patent Document 2 is further
designed such that an air mixed with gas and liquid in an engine
case in which a crankshaft is housed is subjected to gas/liquid
separation in a breather chamber provided upstream or downstream of
a pump, and the discharge side of the pump is connected to intake
and exhaust paths of a combustion chamber. [0008] [Patent Document
1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 05-60000 [0009]
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No,
2007-120411
[0010] However, when the breather chamber is provided between the
engine and the pump, a task of pressurizing a gas having a small
content of oil to discharge the pressurized gas is required for the
pump. That is, the pump is required to have durability sufficient
to endure self-heating in an adiabatic compression process and to
maintain high airtightness even through a temperature environment
is changed. Further, when the breather chamber is provided between
the pump and the intake path or the exhaust path, the oil content
passing through the pump chamber acts effectively for sealing
performance and cooling performance, but a process of compressing
the oil content causes a large mechanical loss, and thus if the
breather chamber is provided as described above, an effect of
reducing the pumping loss is canceled.
[0011] Particularly, in a V-type engine, a cylinder head, an intake
pipe, and an exhaust pipe are disposed and constituted at an upper
portion of an engine case. It is often difficult to dispose the
breather and pump each having a sufficient capacity in such a
restricted space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In consideration of such a situation, the present invention
has an object to provide an attachment structure of a vacuum pump
achieving a breather function that is always excellent effectively
and a reduction in pumping loss.
[0013] An attachment structure of a vacuum pump according to the
present invention being an attachment structure of a vacuum pump
sucking the inside of an engine case to turn a pressure in the
engine case into a negative pressure, the attachment structure of
the vacuum pump includes: disposing a breather chamber above the
vacuum pump.
[0014] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: disposing an intake port of a blow-by
gas in an upper portion of the vacuum pump.
[0015] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: disposing a discharge port of the
blow-by gas in a lower portion of the vacuum pump.
[0016] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: setting a rotor shaft of the vacuum
pump to be coaxial with a rotor shaft of an oil pump.
[0017] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: disposing the breather chamber in one
side surface of a crankcase.
[0018] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: disposing the breather chamber in the
middle of the crankcase between banks on both sides in a V-type
engine.
[0019] The attachment structure of the vacuum pump of the present
invention further includes: setting the rotor of the vacuum pump to
a Roots blower.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of the entire
constitution of a motorcycle according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a constitution example of an
engine unit according to the embodiment of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where an air
cleaner is removed in the engine unit according to the embodiment
of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the air
cleaner and side covers are removed in the engine unit according to
the embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are a right side view and a left side
view each showing a main constitution of the periphery of a
crankcase in the engine unit according to the embodiment of the
present invention;
[0025] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a disposition
constitution example of an oil pump and a vacuum pump in the engine
unit according to the embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are perspective views showing a
substantial constitution of the vacuum pump and a connection
relationship of the vacuum pump and a gas supply pipe according to
the embodiment of the Present invention respectively;
[0027] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a connection
disposition relationship of the vacuum pump and an intake-side
pipeline according to the embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0028] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a connection
disposition relationship of the vacuum pump and a discharge-side
pipeline according so the embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an attachment
structure of a vacuum pump in the present invention will be
explained based on the drawings.
[0030] First, the entire structure of a vehicle to which the
present invention is applied will be explained. In this embodiment,
a motorcycle 100 as shown in FIG. 1 is set, and a vacuum pump is
disposed in an engine mounted in the above motorcycle 100 as will
be described later. Incidentally, in each of the drawings used in
the following explanation, the front of the vehicle is indicated by
an arrow Fr, the rear of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow Rr,
the lateral right side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow R,
and further the lateral left side of the vehicle is indicated by an
arrow L according to need.
[0031] In FIG. 1, at a front portion of a vehicle body frame 101
made of steel or an aluminum alloy material, right and left two
front forks 103 supported to be turnable right and left by a
steering head pipe 102 are provided. A handle bar 104 is fixed to
upper ends of the front forks 103, and grips 105 are provided at
both ends of the handle bar 104. A for wheel 106 is rotatably
supported on lower portions of the front forks 103, and a front
fender 107 is fixed to the lower portions of the front forks 103 so
as to cover an upper portion of the front wheel 106. T front wheel
106 has a brake disc 108 that rotates integrally with the front
wheel 106.
[0032] The vehicle body frame 101 is branched into a two-pronged
shape on the right and left from the steering head pipe 102 toward
the rear, and each slantly extends rearward and downward. Swing
arms 109 are coupled to rear portions of the vehicle body frame 101
in a swingable manner, and a rear shock absorber is laid between
the swing arms 109. A rear wheel 110 is rotatably supported on rear
ends of the swing arms 109. The rear wheel 110 is designed to be
rotationally driven via a driven sprocket 112 around which a chain
111 to transmit motive power of the later-described engine is
wound. Incidentally, a chain cover 113 is provided above the chain
111, and a rear fender 114 is disposed above the rear wheel
110.
[0033] A later-described engine unit 10 is mounted on the vehicle
body frame 101, an air-fuel mixture is supplied from a fuel supply
system to the above engine unit 10, and an exhaust gas after
combustion in the engine is exhausted through an exhaust pipe. In
this embodiment, the engine may also be a four-cycle multicylinder
(four-cylinder) engine, for example. Further, the engine can also
be constituted such that exhaust pipes of respective cylinders are
coupled no one another on the lower side of the engine unit 10, and
thereafter an exhaust gas flows through an exhaust chamber to be
exhausted from a muffler 115 in the vicinity of a rear end of the
vehicle. Incidentally, the muffler 115 is attached and supported
with the use of a seat rail 116 and so on that support a
later-described seating seat and so on.
[0034] A fuel tank 117 is mounted above the engine unit 10, and at
the rear of the fuel tank 117, a rider seat 118 and a tandem seat
119 are consecutively provided. Foot rests 120 and foot rests 121
(pillion steps) are disposed corresponding to the rider seat 118
and the tandem seat 119. In this example, on the left side of the
vehicle, a prop stand 122 is provided at a substantially central
lower portion in the front and rear direction. Further, in FIG. 123
denotes a head lamp, 124 denotes a meter unit including a
speedometer, a tachometer, various indicator lamps, and so on, and
125 denotes rear mirrors supported on a fairing 127 via stays
126.
[0035] As for the exterior of the vehicle, mainly a front portion
and side portions of the vehicle are covered with the fairing 127
and side cowls 128, a rear portion of the vehicle is covered with
side covers 129 and a seat cowl 130, and thereby an appearance form
of the vehicle, which has what is called a streamlined shape, is
formed. Further, at a front end portion of the fairing 127, an air
intake port for supplying air to an air cleaner, (of which detailed
illustration is omitted), is opened. Incidentally, the present
invention is not limited only to the vehicle in such an appearance
type, and is also applicable to other cases.
[0036] Next, FIG. 2 shows a concrete constitution example of the
periphery of the engine unit 10 in this embodiment. In this
example, what is called a V-type engine is set, and in the engine
unit 10, V-shaped banks are formed by cylinders (or cylinder
blocks) 11 disposed at the front and rear respectively (in a side
view), and a crankcase 12 that is divided into an upper part and a
lower part (that are an upper crankcase 12A and a lower crankcase
12B) is integrally coupled under the cylinder blocks 11.
Incidentally, the engine is a multicylinder engine having two
cylinders or more, and by these cylinders, the front bank and the
rear bank of the V-shaped banks are constituted. An oil pan 13 is
provided at a bottom portion of the engine unit 10, namely on the
lower side of the lower crankcase 12B. The engine unit 10 is
integrally coupled to the vehicle body frame 101 via a plurality of
engine mounts 14 and functions as a rigid member of the vehicle
body frame 101 in itself.
[0037] An air cleaner 15 for supplying clean air to an intake
system is disposed on the upper side of cylinder head covers 11A of
the cylinder blocks 11. The air cleaner 15 has an air filter and so
on housed therein, basically has a hollow structure having a
predetermined volume, and is completely housed and maintained
between right and left main frames of the vehicle body frame 101.
Further, an air duct is connected to a front end portion of the air
cleaner 15 via an air intake part 16, is extended to the front of
the air cleaner 15, and is opened at a front end portion of the
vehicle as the previously described air intake port.
[0038] A V-bank space 17 in a substantially inverted triangle shape
in a side view is formed between the V-shaped banks constituted by
the front and rear cylinders 11, and right and left ends of the
above V-bank space 17 are covered with side covers 18 as shown in
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The side covers 18 are integrally coupled to the
cylinders 11. Further, the above-described air cleaner 15 is
mounted on the upper side or the V-bank space 17, namely the V-bank
space 17 is closed by the air cleaner 15 and the side covers 18,
and is brought into a sealed state practically. The above V-bank
space 17 and the inside of the air cleaner 15 communicate with each
other, and here, an air box 19 is defined by both these spaces, and
in the above air box 19, the fuel supply system, an intake system
20, and so on are disposed and constituted.
[0039] The engine unit 10 in this embodiment has a V-type
four-cylinder engine as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, and in the
front and rear banks of the V-shaped banks, the two cylinders 11
are each juxtaposed right and left. Intake pipes 21 are provided to
all the respective cylinders 11 to project toward the V-bank space
17, and not-shown throttle bodies are coupled and disposed to the
upper side of the intake pipes 21, which is the upstream side of
the flow of intake air.
[0040] Then, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, a
positive-displacement breather chamber 22 is provided to be
positioned at a central lower portion of the V-bank space 17,
namely at a bottom portion of the V shape. The breather chamber 22
is separated from the V-bank space 17 by a cover 23 laid at an
upper end portion of the breather chamber 22 as shown in FIG. 3,
namely the breather chamber 22 is disposed under the cover 23. The
above breather chamber 22, similarly to the ordinary case, is
disposed at a position as high as possible in the engine unit 10 in
order to facilitate intake of an air having a small oil content,
and also in this example, the breather chamber 22 communicates with
the upper crankcase 1221 of the crankcase 12. Then, the breather
chamber 22 is designed to take in an air containing a blow-by gas
in an engine case to separate the air into gas and liquid.
[0041] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, a vacuum
pump 24 for causing a negative pressure in the engine case is
disposed at a lower portion of the engine unit 10. The vacuum pump
24 is driven by rotation of a crankshaft as will be described
later, and has a function of sucking an air in the engine case to
turn the pressure in the engine case into a negative pressure. The
breather chamber 22 or particularly the V-bank space 17 in the air
box 19 and the vacuum pump 24 communicate with each other via a gas
supply pipe 25 mainly.
[0042] Here, with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and so on, a
concrete attachment structure or disposition structure of the
vacuum pump 24, and so on will be explained. First, a crankshaft 26
coupled to pistons to reciprocate in the respective cylinders 11
that form the V-shaped banks in the engine unit 10 is easily
rotatably supported on a joining surface of the upper crankcase 12A
and the lower crankcase 12B, and in a transmission case 27 formed
to extend to the rear side of the crankcase 12, as shown in FIG. 6,
a countershaft 28 and a drive shaft 29 are arranged at the front
and rear in parallel to the crankshaft 26 respectively. A primary
drive gear 30 is attached to a right, end portion of the crankshaft
26, a primary driven gear 31 is axially supported on the right end
side of the countershaft 28 to be easily rotatable, and further a
clutch device 32 is provided to the right of the primary driven
gear 31. The primary drive gear 30 and the primary driven gear 31
always engage.
[0043] Gears on the driving side are provided in a row on the
countershaft 28 along an axial direction thereof, and gears on the
driven side that correspondingly engage with the gears on the side
of the countershaft 28 are provided in a row on the drive shaft 29
along an axial direction thereof, of which illustrations are
omitted. A transmission gear composed of these gears moves on the
countershaft 28 and the drive shaft 29 by a not-shown shift
mechanism, and thereby the drive shaft 29 is rotationally driven at
a desired gear ratio. On the left end side of the drive shaft 29, a
drive sprocket provided to project outward from a side wall of the
transmission case 27 is provided, and rotation of the above drive
sprocket rotationally drives the rear wheel 110 via the chain
111.
[0044] Further, as shown in FIG. 6, an oil pump 33 for supplying a
lubricating oil to respective parts of the engine is disposed in
the vicinity of the lower side of the countershaft 28. The oil pump
33, as shown in FIG. 5A, has a rotor shaft 34 thereof disposed in
the vicinity of a lower portion of the lower crankcase 12B and
attached to a side wall of the lower crankcase 12B so as to be
parallel to the countershaft 28 as shown in FIG. 6. Further, the
oil pump 33 is positioned above the oil pan 13. Further, as shown
in FIG. 6, a gear 35 that rotates integrally with the primary
driven gear 31 axially supported on the countershaft 28 and a gear
36 attached to the rotor shaft 34 of the oil pump 33 engage with
each other, and thereby the rotation of the countershaft 28 drives
the oil pump 33.
[0045] In the above-described case, the vacuum pump 24 has the
rotor shaft 37 thereof disposed coaxially with the rotor shaft 34
of the oil pump 33 and attached to the outside of the side wall of
the lower crankcase 12B. The rotor shaft 37 of the vacuum pump 24
is coupled to the rotor shaft 34 of the oil, pump 33 via a coupling
rod 38. Thus, the vacuum pump 24 is positioned above the oil can 13
similarly to the oil pump 33. As described previously, the breather
chamber 22 is disposed at the central lower portion of the V-bank
space 17, and as is clear also from FIG. 5B and so on, there is a
considerable difference in level between the breather chamber 22
and the vacuum pump 24. In the above case, as shown in FIG. 6,
typically, a heat shield plate 39 made of Bakelite is inserted
between the part to which the vacuum pump 24 is attached and the
side wall of the lower crankcase 12B, and this makes it possible to
reduce a rise in temperature of the vacuum pump 24 caused by heat
generation by the engine.
[0046] The vacuum pump 24 and the breather chamber 22 or the air
box 19 communicate with each other via the gas supply pipe 25 as
described previously. Here, in a concrete constitution example of
the vacuum pump 24, a Roots blower is used in this embodiment. A
Roots pump as above is excellent in following ability to the change
in rotation speed of the engine because internal mass is small.
Further, in the vacuum pump 24, a movable part necessary for
lubrication and a Roots blower part that compresses and feeds an
air are separated, so that the vacuum pump 24 can endure high-speed
rotation even though the Roots blower part has no lubrication.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, the vacuum pump 21 has a
driving rotor 41 and a driven rotor 42 rotatably housed in a casing
40. The driving rotor 41 is axially supported on the rotor shaft
37, and the driven rotor 42 is axially supported on a rotor shaft
43. Further, an intake port 44 communicating with the inside of the
casing 40 is provided in an upper portion of the casing 10, and a
discharge port 45 communicating with the inside of the casing 40 is
provided in a lower portion of the casing 40. The driving rotor 41
is rotated by the rotor shaft 37, and thereby the driven rotor 42
is driven-rotated. Thereby, an air or gas taken in from the intake
port 44 is discharged from the discharge port 45.
[0048] The gas supply pipe 25, as shown also in FIG. 4, has an
intake-side pipeline 25A connected to the intake port 44 and a
discharge-side pipeline 25B connected to the discharge port 45, and
in this example, the intake-side pipeline 25A and the
discharge-side pipeline 25B are formed in the single gas supply
pipe 25. When the gas supply pipe 25 is attached to the engine unit
10, an end portion, of the intake-side pipeline 25A, opposite to
the vacuum pump 24 is connected to an intake path 46 formed from
the breather chamber 22 through the lower crankcase 12B and one
portion of an engine cover, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG.
8. An end portion, of the discharge-side pipeline 25B, opposite to
the vacuum pump 24, as indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 9,
is connected to a discharge path 47 formed through the engine cover
and one portion of the lower crankcase 12B to communicate with the
air box 19.
[0049] In the above-described constitution, when the engine is
started, the crankshaft 26 rotates to operate a valve moving
device, a transmission, and so on, and then an ordinary engine
operating state is made. At this time, the rotation of the
crankshaft 28 operates the oil pump 33 to thereby supply a
lubricating oil appropriately to the parts required to be
lubricated in the engine unit 10. Further, at this time, some
blow-by gas is generated in the engine case simultaneously, but the
vacuum pump 24 coupled to the oil pump 33 operates to effectively
suck the blow-by gas through the breather chamber 22.
[0050] In this embodiment, the breather chamber 22 or the air box
19 and the oil pump 33 are connected by the gas supply pipe 25, and
when the vacuum pump 24 operates, the inside of the breather
chamber 22 is first sucked via the intake-side pipeline 25A as
shown in FIG. 8. Gas/liquid separation of the blow-by gas sucked
into the breather chamber 22 from the engine case progresses in the
breather chamber 22, and an air having a small oil content of the
blow-by gas is taken in the vacuum pump 24. The vacuum pump 24, as
shown in FIG. 9, discharges the air into the air box 19 through the
discharge-side pipeline 25B, and an intake gas containing the air
is supplied to the engine again through the intake pipes 21 by the
intake system.
[0051] The characteristic operation and effect of the present
invention will be explained. First, the breather chamber 22 is
disposed above the vacuum pump 24 as shown in FIG. 5B and so
on.
[0052] When such a disposition relationship of the breather chamber
22 and the vacuum pump 24 is established, even though the blow-by
gas containing oil mist is sucked from the breather chamber 22, the
vacuum pump 24 is disposed below the breather chamber 22 and thus
the oil drops down to a sliding portion (a region X in FIG. 7A) in
the vacuum pump 24 positioned below due to the difference in level
between the breather chamber 22 and the vacuum pump 24. Then, a
reduction in abrasion and improvement of durability of the siding
portion in the vacuum pump 24 are thereby achieved. Further, the
oil content of the blow-by gas allows sealing between the driving
rotor 41 and the driven rotor 42 and the casing 40 in the vacuum
pump 24, and this makes it possible to increase pump efficiency of
the vacuum pump 24.
[0053] As described above, by leading the oil content contained in
the air to the vacuum pump 24 disposed at a lower portion of the
engine from the breather chamber 22 disposed between the V-shaped
banks of the cylinders 11, the oil content can be effectively
utilized for lubricating the periphery of the rotors in the vacuum
pump 24. Further, the oil content contained in the air can increase
the pump efficiency by a sealing effect of the periphery of the
rotors.
[0054] Further, the intake port 44 of the blow-by gas is disposed
in the upper portion of the vacuum pump 24. When the intake port 44
is disposed in this manner, the oil contained in the blow-by gas
drops down to the above-described sliding portion in the vacuum
pump 24 as indicated by an arrow Y in FIG. 7B to thereby be able to
lubricate the above sliding portion efficiently.
[0055] On the other hand, the discharge port 45 of the blow-by gas
is disposed in the lower portion of the vacuum pump 24. When the
discharge port 45 is disposed in this manner, the oil dropped down
to the intake side of the vacuum pump 24, as indicated by an arrow
Z in FIG. 7B, goes down along a wall surface of the casing 40 from
the intake side, thereby allowing lubrication between the driving
rotor 41 and the driven rotor 42 and the wall surface of the casing
40 to be performed effectively.
[0056] Further, the rotor shaft 37 of the vacuum pump 24 is set
coaxially with the rotor shaft 34 of the oil pump 33.
[0057] By coaxially rotating the rotors for the vacuum pump 24 and
a rotor for the oil pump 33, it becomes, possible to drive both the
pumps efficiently. Further, the rotors are coaxially disposed, and
thereby it is possible to achieve a reduction in size of a
device.
[0058] Further, the breather chamber 22 is disposed in one side
surface of the crankcase 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, for
example, the breather chamber 22 is disposed at the rear of the
front bank of the V-shaped banks structured by the cylinders
11.
[0059] When the breather chamber 22 is disposed in this manner, the
breather chamber 22 adjacent to the cylinder blocks 11 is
depressurized by the vacuum pump 24, and thus it is possible to
effectively reduce a pumping loss.
[0060] In the above case, the breather chamber 22 is disposed in
the middle of the crankcase 12 between the V-shaped banks in the
V-type engine in this embodiment.
[0061] As is in this embodiment, when the breather chamber 22 is
disposed in the middle of the crankcase 12 between the V-shaped
banks in the V-type engine, it is possible to equally suck both the
insides of the front crankcase 12 and the rear crankcase 12 by the
vacuum pump 24 efficiently.
[0062] Further, in this embodiment, a Roots blower is employed for
the rotors of the vacuum pump 24. The employment of a Roots blower
having good pump efficiency makes it possible to effectively
improve the performance of the vacuum pump 24.
[0063] In the foregoing, the present invention has been explained
with various embodiments, but the present invention is not limited
only to these embodiments and may be changed within the scope of
the present invention.
[0064] In the above-described embodiment, a Roots blower is
employed in the vacuum pump, but another pump type such as a gear
type, a plunger type, or a Lysholm type may also be employed.
Further, besides the crankshaft employed as a pump driving source,
it is also possible to utilize, for example, an electric motor,
engine exhaust pressure, or the like.
[0065] Further, an example where an air is discharged into the
portion adjacent to the breather chamber from the vacuum pump has
been explained, but the present invention may also be designed to
make the air flow back to the air cleaner 15 directly.
[0066] Furthermore, besides the V-type engine, the present
invention is similarly applicable to an inline multicylinder
engine, for example, and operation and effect similar to those of
the above-described embodiment can be obtained.
[0067] According to the present invention, by leading the oil
content contained the air no the vacuum pump disposed at the lower
portion of the engine from the breather chamber disposed between
the cylinders, typically between the V-shaped banks, the oil
content can be effectively utilized for lubricating the periphery
of the rotors in the vacuum pump. Further, the oil content
contained in the air can increase the Pump efficiency by a sealing
effect of the periphery of the rotors.
[0068] It should be noted that the above embodiments merely
illustrate concrete examples of implementing the present invention,
and the technical scope of the present invention is not to be
construed in a restrictive manner by these embodiments. That is,
the present invention may be implemented in various forms without
departing from the technical spirit or main features thereof.
* * * * *